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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCoronavirus rumors and chaos in Alabama point to big problems as U.S. seeks to contain virus
Washington PostANNISTON, Ala. Not long before local leaders decided, in the words of one of them, that federal health officials didnt know what they were doing" with their plan to quarantine novel coronavirus patients in town, a doctor here set out in a biohazard suit to stage a one-man protest along the highway with a sign. The virus has arrived. Are you ready? it asked.
The town didnt think it was. Residents already were unnerved by strange stories posted on Facebook and shared via text messages about helicopters secretly flying in sick patients, that the virus was grown in a Chinese lab, that someone either the media or the government was lying to them about what was really going on.
The quarantine plan hastily hatched by the federal Department of Health and Human Services was soon scrapped by President Trump, who faced intense pushback from Alabamas congressional delegation, led by Republican Rep. Mike D. Rogers. Americans evacuated after falling ill aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan would not be coming to Anniston, a town of 22,000 people in north-central Alabama, after all. They would remain in the same Texas and California sites where they were taken after leaving the cruise ship.
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What happened here over the past week illustrates how poor planning by federal health officials and a rumor mill fueled by social media, polarized politics and a lack of clear communication can undermine public confidence in the response to the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease named covid-19. The rapidly spreading virus has rattled economies worldwide in recent weeks and caused the deaths of more than 2,900 people, mostly in China.
The town didnt think it was. Residents already were unnerved by strange stories posted on Facebook and shared via text messages about helicopters secretly flying in sick patients, that the virus was grown in a Chinese lab, that someone either the media or the government was lying to them about what was really going on.
The quarantine plan hastily hatched by the federal Department of Health and Human Services was soon scrapped by President Trump, who faced intense pushback from Alabamas congressional delegation, led by Republican Rep. Mike D. Rogers. Americans evacuated after falling ill aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan would not be coming to Anniston, a town of 22,000 people in north-central Alabama, after all. They would remain in the same Texas and California sites where they were taken after leaving the cruise ship.
AD
What happened here over the past week illustrates how poor planning by federal health officials and a rumor mill fueled by social media, polarized politics and a lack of clear communication can undermine public confidence in the response to the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease named covid-19. The rapidly spreading virus has rattled economies worldwide in recent weeks and caused the deaths of more than 2,900 people, mostly in China.
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Coronavirus rumors and chaos in Alabama point to big problems as U.S. seeks to contain virus (Original Post)
brooklynite
Mar 2020
OP
Skittles
(153,180 posts)1. this is what happens when there is a failure of leadership from the top
Last edited Sun Mar 1, 2020, 10:38 PM - Edit history (1)
rumors run rampant, chaos ensues
fuck Russia and everyone who thought voting for a pussy grabbing reality TV show con man was just a SWELL thing to do
customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)2. The same thing
happened during the Ebola scare from a few years ago. It's human nature to exaggerate danger.
Yes, Trump is not helping things one little bit, but he's pretty much irrelevant as to the rumors going on about this outbreak.
Skittles
(153,180 posts)3. it's not the same